Air Canada is planning to trim its workforce by at least half as the COVID-19 crisis continues to impact the airline industry.

An internal memo obtained by CBC News says that, effective June 7, "approximately 50 to 60% " of the company's 38,000 employees will be laid off. "We estimate about 20,000 people will be affected."

Air Canada officials said the layoffs are a result of a "fundamental review of what we must do to successfully emerge from this crisis and begin rebuilding our airline."

AC president and CEO Calin Rovinescu recently called the COVID-19 pandemic the darkest hour in aviation history.

The airline said it is currently flying at about five per cent of the capacity it flew last year and hopes to ramp up to 25% later in the year if government-imposed travel restrictions are eased, the CBC said in it story.

The story quotes Craig Landry, Air Canada’s executive vice-president of operations, as saying AC is losing $22 million a day.

"Sadly, today the hard truth is that by every indicator we have available to us, we believe that we will be materially smaller for at least three years," Landry said in the memo.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on the weekend hinted again at help for Canadian airlines, but no programs have been announced that are aimed specifically at the nation’s aviation industry.

“We will have conversations with Air Canada, as we will with airlines across the sector, to try and see how the best way to get through this particular pandemic is,” Trudeau said on the Victoria Day long weekend. “We know that airlines are incredibly hard-hit by this pandemic and we will be there to work with them to see how best we can help.”